


Late Goodbye

by the_lie_eternal



Series: Marko and his Mental Illness [7]
Category: Poets of the Fall
Genre: AU, Background story, Bloody, Death, Hospital, Pain, Prison, a oneshot of how Jaska died once again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 05:23:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13404360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_lie_eternal/pseuds/the_lie_eternal
Summary: It's a late goodbye ..such a late goodbye





	Late Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> *arises from the ashes*

_Dead silence rules the car as I drive it on the parking lot of the graveyard. A half year passed since Marko was thrown back into life by Jari. I couldn’t watch my best friend helplessly trying to find his way into society so I offered my help, to him and Markus – another friend of him. We live together in a commune, at least until I can let these two men out into the world without worrying about their whereabouts or mental state. Luckily I am not the only one earning money to pay the horrific high rent, even if it isn’t much – Marko found a new hobby in making street music. Every now and then he leaves the house with Jaska’s guitar and comes back with a bag full of money. He has to be very good, not that I judge someone by their looks but Marko sure has a hard life re-socializing with a face looking scarred like his. They didn’t change a little since the day we went parted ways, almost 12 years ago._

_Markus isn’t useless either. He finds his joy in playing the keyboard, sometimes he and Marko team up and create something sounding almost like a real band. Their music warms my heart, every single time the goosebumps from the first time I heard my friend singing return. Such a talented man, even though he’s forbidden to draw, at least for a while._

_“I hope one of you has tissues hidden somewhere?” I joke with a forced smile and lead the two men over the graveyard. I knew the way to his grave too well, I spent more time there than I should. I add a sigh and let my hand wander over my face. No time to cry, Olli, not with Marko and Markus around._

_The flowers, fresh and beautiful from the day before. My eyes wander over the inscription as every day._

**_“Jaska Mäkinen”_ **

**_“It’s a late goodbye.”_ **

_There is no need to waste time on the dates, knew them well enough._

_“My good old friend …“ Marko is heard muttering as he kneeled down – to my surprise – and put his flat hand on the wet dirt. “Whatever took you from us needed to have a very good reason for it.’ the ex-inmate mumbled. I laughed with a single tear running down my face._

_“The person who killed dad is dead, and he had no reason to take him from me at all.” I sobbed but slightly slapped myself to stay strong, no weakness acceptable._

_“Dad?” Markus and Marko said almost synchronal “Why are you-“ my friend wanted to add but I interrupted. He didn’t know, of course._

_“Jaska … he couldn’t watch the horrible way my real father cared about me, so nothing at all, and he was the only one in my life who was ready to waste time and nerves to make the man out of me I am today. He adopted me around two years after you left for a better place and has been the best parent a lost and hopeless kid can have. I was already 21, yes, but still in the childish mind of a rebel teen in his puberty. I could never find enough words to thank him and I still can’t.” I rambled and the two men silently listened. I could see the surprise in Marko’s eyes._

_At that point I wasn’t even sure who of us knew him better._

_“Would you be ready … only if you can make it, of course … to tell me, or us the story of how it happened?” Marko asked carefully. I nodded and lead them to a bench near the grave._

_“Best friends have the right to know.” I muttered and readied myself for a story I could probably tell my non-existing grand-children too._

 

“Dad! Hey, dad!” I shouted as I slammed open the front door to show Jaska my newest achievements in evening school. Of course, as a 30-year-old it seemed kind of useless to still go to school but I never graduated, nor was I interested enough to care about education as teen. The morning spent at Versailles, the evening in school – every day I came home more exhausted but it was worth it, I knew it.

I walked into the living room where I found my dad laying on the couch, visibly tense and apprehensive.

“Hey Olli.” came a weak and short reply. I put my bag aside and joined the older man on the couch.

“Everything alright?” I immediately asked, his piercing eyes finding mine. Even though he became old, his eyes never lost their pure strength and – yes – beauty.

“Yes, yes, nothing to worry about.” he wanted to brush it off but he sure knew I never left it with a cheap excuse. That’s what he taught me, after all.

“Jaska.” I only raised a brow and every time I used his name instead of “dad” he could guess that I was more than just serious.

“10 years and now I worry about our space problem. This flat is made for one lonely single, not a father-son duo.” he sighed and straightened up to be on one eye-height with me. He was right, we both even needed to sleep in the same bedroom – separate beds of course. I never considered as a problem but he lived there since forever, he knew it better.

To our advantage, we both didn’t have much luck with the ladies, so we stayed bloody lonely men.

“We could both save up and then move into a bigger flat, one day … I know we both don’t earn much but …” I tried to find a solution for his seemingly problem but I stopped talking as I noticed his shaking head.

“I don’t know if I could make it to move somewhere else, after 30 years this flat is one with me. I also feel myself becoming somehow weaker, I don’t want to handle with any unnecessary stress anymore.” he muttered and checked his phone.

“Dad, you are just 50 years old.” I chuckled and put my hand on his shoulder.

“I feel like 70, even 80. Olli, working as a head guard of a mental hospital is not an easy job, when you are an old dog like me you feel it in your bones, your muscles, just everywhere. I am afraid of the day I am too weak to defend myself and my mentally ill kids realize that I can’t handle them anymore.” I was able to hear the suffering and also fear behind his voice, sending a slight wave of goosebumps over my skin. I decided to not ask him about the flat topic further, not as long as he was in the “I’m getting old” mood.

 

“This newbie, do you know him already?” Jaska muttered as we sat together in the morning. It was Sunday, I had a free day, Jaska needed to go to work, just as every day. I shook my head as I took the last sip of my coffee.

“Be happy, he’s a painful one. I will transfer him right into the padded cells today, that’s where he belongs.” he chuckled and raised from the kitchen desk with a groan.

“Should I come with you?” I asked as I saw how sick Jaska looked like, he had no strength at all to handle a mentally ill inmate. I stood up and held his arm.

“No, you have a free day, use it and rest, you are working hard enough.” Jaska ripped his arm away from me and put on his jacket. I watched as he took up his bag, wanting to leave.

“Dad …” I exclaimed, and he turned around.

“Yes, Olli.” he sighed.

“Please … take care of yourself. You are everything I have …” I sniveled, maybe too emotional, my gaze going on the ground.

“Olli, hey little one …” I felt a finger under my chin, leading my head back up. Jaska’s eyes staring into mine, a small smile playing on his lips. “I am always taking care of myself, even if it is only for you.” he whispered and wrapped his arms around me. I don’t know what happened in that moment but without any chance of holding it back I began crying into Jaska’s shoulder.

“Gosh, I don’t want to leave you like this.” he murmured into my ear and stroked his hand through my hair. “Should I take this day off, should I stay here with you?” he added and let go of me.

“Your inmates need you, I can make it work, don’t worry.” I forced a smile and received a pat on my shoulder from my father.

“You deserve a day off. I will call you in my break.” Jaska nodded and make his way out of our flat.

 

I just sat down on the couch when I heard the phone ringing. I checked my watch, Jaska’s break was usually not before 3 pm – who could it be?

“Tapio” I read on the screen of my smartphone – why would he call me?

“Why are you c-“ I asked as I answered the call but got interrupted immediately.

“Olli, your father, Jaska .., the newbie … come to the hospital as fast as you can, I will wait for you, just be fast please.” the guard exclaimed stuttering and obviously in tears. No time to answer, I let my phone fall and ran into the hallway. Jaska … hospital … newbie – FUCK.

The keys for the car were gone … my only vehicle left was his motorcycle. I had a license for it, that wasn’t the problem, but a look out of the window told me that I would probably die, riding a motorcycle in such a storm. Screw it, Jaska needed me.

I grabbed the helmet off the sideboard and ran into the garage, I didn’t care about my clothes, how I looked like or something like this – Jaska.

The wet street made it almost impossible to drive like a normal human being, luckily almost not a single car was seen on the streets so I could drive as I wanted … arriving at the hospital was the only thing I wanted.

Countless red lights, honks from other cars and completely soaked clothes later I jumped off the motorcycle, almost forgetting to take the keys with me, running into the big entrance of the hospital. Luckily Tapio was easy to spot in his uniform.

“Olli! Finally!” he greeted me but I couldn’t contain myself.

“Jaska, where is he? What happened, what did the newbie do? ANSWER ME!” I shouted but immediately apologized to my colleague in my next breath.

“He … they are giving him an emergency operation right now. Olli, they say it doesn’t look good for him … I … I” Tapio tried to explain the situation but it obviously couldn’t help me much except – what I already figured out – that my father was badly hurt through the newbie.

“Please, just tell me what happened!” I put my hands on his shoulders and tried to finally get my answers from him. At the same time I noticed the weird looks of several other people being in the lobby of the hospital, truth was I didn’t really care, I knew no shame in relation to Jaska.

“Jaska … he seemed so tired as he arrived this morning, he was so demotivated and replied as annoyed as I’ve never seen him before when I mentioned the newbie. Not thinking about it more, we both and Lauri went to bring him from the padded cells into his actual cell, you know – the anger issue tract. Well … who could’ve known that three guards were way too less.” as Tapio spoke he revealed his arms full of bloody scratches and … were that bites? “I’ve never seen something like that before, that dude was insane, aggressive. Believe me, he freed himself, don’t know how, from the straightjacket and … attacked your father. Lauri and I tried to help but it was almost impossible …” he mumbled and I saw the concerns raising in his eyes again.

“Jaska …” was the only thing I could mutter for myself as my colleague lead me to a near chair. I sat down, tears filling my eyes. I knew it, I knew something was going to happen.

 

“What do you mean I can’t see him?” I furiously exclaimed as the doctor forbid me to enter the room where Jaska was laying.

“Sir, he is not in a good state –“ he tried to calmly explain me the situation … but I just couldn’t hold myself back. I had never been a rude person … I guess such happenings screw you completely over.

“I know he is not in a good state, I know he is dying for fucks sake! HE’S MY FREAKING FATHER! You can’t keep me away from him, I don’t want him to leave alone, he doesn’t deserve such an end!” I shouted so loud that the whole hallway could hear it – and probably Jaska inside the room also.

“I … I am not allowed to do this.” the doctor muttered with a shaking head.

“Don’t do this to me and him. You don’t know what happened for us to end up at this place. I stay by his side as he’s dying and nobody can keep me away from that.” I stated, still keeping the angry undertone.

“Fine.” the doctor rolled his eyes and stepped aside so I could enter the small hospital room.

 

My heart shattered hearable into a million pieces as I stood at the end of Jaska’s bed, looking at the man who was supposed to be my father. Countless tubes going inside and outside of his body,  monitors I didn’t know the meaning of blinking next to him – his body was hidden under usual clinic clothes, his neck was full of bite marks and scratches, most of them bloody and painful to only look at. As much as I could see of his upper body, there was a huge stitch covering his right collarbone.

I looked into his face, the eyes closed in pain, one of it shaded in the darkest blue, several wounds over his forehead and cheeks, his nose clearly broken but not further cared about – a broken nose was not the reason he was dying.

“O- Olli …” a weak voice whispered my name, I saw the fingers of his right hand seemingly searching for mine, in visible pain. I carefully put my hand into his and shortly after the well known smiling face gazed at me, even if it was covered in blood.

“Jaska …” I answered and squeezed the hand of my father.

“I … I am sorry … it had t- t- to end like this.” Jaska slowly formed the words, suffering harder with every breath he took.

“Don’t, it is not your fault.” I gently put my free hand against his cheek and rested my eyes onto his.

“Remember … remember how I t- told you … eleven years ago … my gun was not u- used for almost 14 … years …” Jaska gasped and squinted his eyes together “H- he broke m- my thorax … I can’t b- breathe.”

“You shot him?” I asked, as that was what he seemingly tried to tell me. Jaska nodded in pain.

“Olli, p- promise me some- something, okay?” my father gasped almost as every chunk of air left his lungs. I felt the tears coming up my eyes again, the end – he was dying.

“Take care of Marko. Don’t cry over my death. I love you, Olli, I am so proud of you.” he coughed out in a long breath, his last breath.


End file.
